Chain shot.



J. WODISKA.

CHAIN SHOTE l v APPucATIoN FILED 1 AN.5,1915. f' 1,165,053. Y Patented De.21,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEETv l.

`iiIljlllllllllllllllllllll I'. WODISKA.

CHAIN SHOT.

APPLlc/mou FILED |AN. 5,1915.

. Patented Dec. 21, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Ano/Mfrs JULIUs woDIsKA, or NEW ironia-'1t` Y.

CHAIN SHOT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2.1, 1915.

Application iled January 5, 1915. Serial No. 559.

To all whom t may concern Be itknown that I, JULIUS WODISKA, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Chain Shot, of which the following 'is a specification.

My invention relates to chain shot for that class of guns known as ordnance and for such guns whether for naval or land use and, if thev latter, whether forvuse as a field gun or for use in permanent .emplacements. i

More particularly' my invention relates to chain shot for a gun of the class specified in which the gun is providedwith vtwo barrels or bores havingaxes which diverge slightly so that the projectiles, when they leave the gun, continue to diverge from one another and stretch the connecting chain thus forming, in effect, a continuous project-ile of. considerable length transverse to thedirection of fire. Projectiles of this class, while long known, may now find a new field of application as destroying means for a'eroplanes, dirigible balloons and the like.

My invention provides an improved chain shot the leading character of which is the uniting of the shot by chain, of considerable length passing through openings in the points of said shot, said chain being held, u p to the time the projectiles are fired, withvin the body of one or both projectiles and capable of being extended as the projectiles increase their distance from the gun at all' stages during flight, therefore, this extensible chain tends to be kept tightly, stretched between the urojectiles proper'.

So far asll chain shot have always been con ected together bylchain's of definite and rather limited length so that the area swept over by the chain has been correspondingly limited.

My improved chain shot is provided with means which prevent any entanglement of the chain in the bore of thegun as well as .any wedging or wearing action of the chain alpen the same. l

The object of my inventionvis to provide a chain shot for a gun of the type specified which shall be free of many of the disadvantageshitherto appurtenant to guns of this #has and which, without-.increase of am "aware, in the rior art,`

powder charge or size 'of gun, shall be capable of greater destructiveness.

. My invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings in whichi Figure llrepresents a side elevation of a iield gun for use with my improved chain shot; Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1 taken from above; Fig. 3 is a front view of Fig.

1; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section taken y through `the axes of the two barrels .of the gun; Fig. 5 is a view showing the behavior of my improved chain shot afterit hasleft.

the gun of the previous figures; Fig. 6 shows my invention as applied to a chain shot for a three barrel gun; Fig. -7 is an enlarged longitudinal section through one ofthe projectiles proper of my improved chain shot Vand Fig. 8 is a view, similar to Fig. 7, showing a. modified form of such single projectile. In the drawings the gun V1 is mounted upon a carriage 2 of usual type.

chamber the gun is cylindrical externallyr and provided with peripheral ribs 9, 10 which are beveled on their vrear faces; a short tubular cradle 11, having its top Wall removed and provided with trunnions 12 journaled in opposite forks of the carriage and provided with peripheral rings' 13, 14'

which abut against the 'beveled faces of ribs 9, 10-respectively embrace and support the The gun -has two barrels 3, 4 opening and diverging g'un. In constructing and assembling the l gun rib 13 should be made in two pieces and fastened to the remaining portion of the cri'ldle` after first being npositioned v against ri 91 f A transverse Worm 15, operated by hand wheel 16 and mounted in upwardly projecting portions of the cradle 11, engages a pevripherally disposed worm gear 17 (Fig. 4)

fixed to the gun. One of the trunnions 12 carriesa segmental gear 13 'which is engaged with a worm 18 attached to the side of the carriage and operated by a hand wheel19.

By the use of hand wheel 16 the gun may i' red in the'usual way.

be rotated about its mean aXis so as to debe elevated or depi ssed (dotted lines Fig. 1 show one position in elevation).

Azimuth adjustment may be obtained by swinging the carriage as a-whole upon its wheels.

The projectiles 20 may be made of any usual material andpreferably in two parts,

viz., a body 21 and a base 22 adapted to be secured to said body.

In the form of projectile shown in Fig. 7 a transverse shaft, the ends of which are depressed below the surface of the body, has keyed or otherwise fastened to it a spool 24 upon which is coiled a suitable length of chain or wire cable 25. The end of vthis shaft may be made square so asto be engaged by a suitable winding crank or handle by means of which the coiling of the chain may be accomplished.

Into the point of the projectile is screwed or otherwise held a uide tube 26 the outer end of which is flare as at 27. The length of this tube is preferably such that when the prof j ectile is in the gun ready for firing its outer end will extend not quite tothe muzzle of the gun. The chain or cable 25 passes from.

the reel out of the tube.

:The modificationv shown in Fig. `8 difers' from that of Fig. 7 only in that the cha-in or cable is coiled within the body. of the projectile instead of being wound upon a spool as in Fig. 7 the end of the chain is permanently fastened to a plug 28.

The gun maybe riled and-hence partially choked. In loading, the two projectiles are rst entered through the open breech and positioned in their respective barrels at the forward endof the explosion chamber (F ig. 4). The' ends of chain 26 from each projectile may then be .readily `reachedl and connected together as at 29 externally of the un. g The explosion chamber having been given its powder charge, preferablyoontained in a copper or-other suitable shell of usual type, the breech may then be closed andthe gun Or the gun may be smooth bored without choke;in such case the projectiles may be brought to the gun connected in Vpairs and loa-ded into the gun at thermuzzl'e.' As the projectiles leave the gun they have a divergent direction as to. I'

one another and continue to separate'. This separation will be permitted up to the length of the chain connecting them, after which the projectiles will proceed parallel to one ltlopes of this pate/nt ymay he obtained,for velcents each, by addressing the Camini Washington, D. B.

another carrying the stretched rchain between them and sweeping away everything in its path.

4Whlle for purpose of convenience I have shown and described a gun of two barrels and suitable projectiles therefor, such embodilnent is` not essential to the practice of,my invention, as the principles thereof may be applied to projectiles adapted to guns of any reasonable number of barrels. vIn Fig. 6 I have shown' in elevation a chain shot comprising three projectiles as they would appear from the -front when in full flight.

As the projectiles leave thegun their axes are respectively parallel to the several barrels. Immediately 'they have left the gun,

however, the bases of the projectiles will begin to swing outwardly until the projectile axes lie transversely to the line of flight as shown dotted in' Fig. 5, and in Fig. 6. Having described my invention I claim 1. Chain shot comprising a pair of hollow7 projectiles having openings` through their points, a chain connecting said projectiles, said chain passingthrough said openings, and means for preventing. the ends of the chain from being withdrawn from the projectiles. y

2. Chain shot comprising a pain of hollow projectiles having axial openings through their tips, a chain passing through each opening, means for retaining an end, of the chain within .the projectile and means for connecting and disconnecting the outer ends of ,the two chains, the major part of both chains being adapted to be contained within the projectiles upl to theA moment of tiringv but to be drawn therefrom in response to an)T force which tends to Separate the Pro' jectiles. j v

3. Chain shot comprising a pair of hollow projectiles, a'guide tube inthe axis of each projectile opening into the hollow thereof,

Aand a chai'ntpermanently connecting the two projectiles, said chain 4passing down each guide tube.

41:. Chain shot for multi-barreled guns comprising a pair of hollow projectiles having openings throughtheir tips, a. cham permanently connecting the two projectiles and passing through each opening and means for 'holding the chain out of contact with the gun barrels as the gun is fired. v

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. A y

JULIUS WODISKA.

Witnessest.

ELMBR G. VVILLYOUNG, FRI'Tz ZIEGLER, J r.

ssior 2rl of Patents, 

